Exciting Okavango Delta National Park of Botswana

Botswana is the symbol of hope for all the conflict ridden continent of Africa. This once poor and undeveloped country has thanks to its political stability been able to rise as an economic and tourism rock star of the region. Its tourism industry is thought to be the fastest expanding in the continent with thousands of tourists heading to its exotic wild life parks for an exciting game viewing opportunity each year.

One national park of Botswana is getting special attention from the tourists because of its unique landscape and because of it being rich in exotic wildlife; it’s the famous Okavango Delta National Park. The park spanning on an area of 17,000 sq. km is home to all the big five mammals of the continent and also encompasses the largest wetland of the continent. The landscape created by the lush grasslands, forest, delta and the wetland alone makes the park worth visiting but if you couple it with the thousands of elephants, zebras, giraffes and many prides of lion and hyenas, you get your self a national park no game viewing enthusiast will want to miss out on.

The best thing about Botswana and which makes it rise up from the competition in the tourism industry of the region is its improved infrastructure. You will be taking a cheap flight to Gaborone for getting into Botswana which is the capital of the nation and a pretty modern city. If you are directly arriving from Europe then it is recommended that you spend at least a couple of days in Gaborone to acclimatize your self with the local climate.

You can hire a car from your hotel in Gaborone for taking you to the park but there is also a bus service available for getting to Okavango. You will first reach the town of Maun which is considered as the gateway to Okavango, the town has a few good hotels you can stay in. The park is about 10 km from the town and you will have to pay a small entry fee for getting into the park. The park rangers usually provide the tourist groups with a small briefing about the park and will let you know of the few things you need to avoid doing while you are in the park, like not getting off the vehicle unless you are in designated parts of Okavango park and not to harass the animals in any way as they may act violently once harassed. You can either take the tour of the park all by your self in your own car or you can ask a park ranger to provide you with a guided tour.

Okavango is the world’s largest inland delta and is home to nearly all the major African mammals. Because of the vastness of Okavango it will be a good idea to spend at least a few days in the park and explore it properly. There are a couple of resorts in the park that can provide you with accommodation facilities but they cost a lot more then the ones in the town of Maun. You can also decide to camp out in the wilderness but try to consult a park ranger before doing so and take his recommendations seriously.